“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Jake watched in horror as her lower lip trembled.
“Because I’m not going to go—” he rushed to say, reaching a hand to touch her gently on the shoulder but quickly withdrawing when she flinched away from his touch.
“Why not?” she spat angrily at him.
It was Jake’s turn to be confused. His brows furrowed as he tried to make sense of her change of emotion.
“What do you mean, why not?”
“Well, why wouldn’t you go to Harvard? Isn’t it your dream?”
“Well, yeah, but?—”
“But what?”
“Gia, come on. You know Ican’t go.”
“Is it money?”
“I mean, yeah, I can’t exactly afford an Ivy League school or anything.”
“That’s a stupid reason not to go.”
“What?”
“I’m saying there are probably tons of financial aid or student loan options for you if you wanted to go.” Gia paused as she turned her face to the horizon. A look of longing passed over her features. “At least one of us should go after their dreams.”
The urge to wrap an arm around her, to offer Gia comfort from her melancholy thoughts, was strong—but instead of acting on his impulse, Jake balled his hands into fists.
As if shaking herself out of her thoughts, Gia turned to him and beamed a smile his way. He ignored the way his heart raced at being the center of her attention.
“Besides, don’t you want to get out of this small town and see what’s out there?” She nudged him with her shoulder, sending goosebumps with the contact. A very different reaction from when Thao had made a similar gesture not too long ago.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Oh, I have an idea! We should make a pact!” Gia practically vibrated with excitement.
“A pact?” he echoed incredulously, eyebrows furrowed at the prospect.
“Yeah, a pact. Like one of those binding agreements we have to follow through with no matter what.”
“I don’t know, Gia?—”
“What kind of pact?” Thao interrupted.
“We promise each other we’ll go after our dreams. Even if it might take years to do it, eventually you have to try.” Gia looked earnestly between the two males beside her. “Come on, guys. We have to try or we’ll never know.”
Thao rolled his eyes, but his lopsided grin told Jake what Thao’s answer would be.
“Okay, fine. Let’s do it.”
Gia turned her attention to Jake and waited expectantly for his answer. Not for the first time, he admired her effortless beauty. The way the light reflected off her dark hair and tanned skin made her seem like she was glowing. But he knew her warm brown eyes were his biggest weakness. He could never say no to anything she asked of him.
Blowing out a breath in mock exasperation, he nodded reluctantly. His answering grin was the response Gia wanted, and her lips stretched into a triumphant smile.
“Okay, hands in.” Gia placed her hand in front of her. Thao leaned over and placed his large paw on his twin. Rolling his eyes, Jake joined with his hand on top. When Gia’s other hand landed on top of his to complete the pact, he looked on in awe at how small her hand was on top of his.
